Dodger dollars - baseball's new currency

Updated 11:38 pm, Saturday, August 25, 2012

Photo: Stephen Dunn, Getty Images

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LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 25: Newly arrived pitcher Josh Beckett of the Los Angeles Dodgers runs off the field after throwing in the outfield before the game with the Miami Marlins on August 25, 2012 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) less

LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 25: Newly arrived pitcher Josh Beckett of the Los Angeles Dodgers runs off the field after throwing in the outfield before the game with the Miami Marlins on August 25, 2012 at Dodger ... more

And if you didn't harbor that wicked disdain so prevalent among Giants fans toward the Dodgers, you might be considering it now.

For most teams, late August is for tinkering. A bench guy here, a journeyman reliever there, through the subtle process of waiver deals. The Red Sox just torched their organizational philosophy, and the Dodgers uncorked a quarter of a billion dollars from their treasure chest.

In a mind-blowing deal that became official Saturday, the Dodgers gave up virtually nothing - first baseman James Loney and four minor-leaguers - for first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, outfielder Carl Crawford, pitcher Josh Beckett, journeyman infielder Nick Punto and a staggering $262.5 million in salary obligations beyond this year.

Let the Dodgers' new ownership take care of the checkbook; general manager Ned Colletti must be trying to conceal his laughter. Brian Sabean's former sidekick just saved his job, with a contract extension looming, and the Dodgers became a far more credible threat to the Giants' hold on first place.

From the standpoint of the Giants, this deal is about one man: Gonzalez, a Mexican American who grew up in Southern California and couldn't wait to get back there.

It didn't take long for Gonzalez to arrive in L.A. on Saturday, suit up for the Dodgers and make a huge impression. In his first at-bat, against Miami ace Josh Johnson, he hit a three-run homer. That made him an instant hero with his new team - exactly what the Giants didn't want to hear.

In his days with the San Diego Padres, playing in spacious Petco Park, he put up home-run seasons of 30, 36, 40 and 31 from 2007-10. He hit .338 for last year's Red Sox with 117 RBIs and a league-leading 213 hits. Even this year, with the organization in turmoil and Gonzalez reportedly among the Red Sox players forging an insurrection against manager Bobby Valentine, he's hitting .300 with 86 RBIs.

Gonzalez represents a massive first-base upgrade over Loney, whose .254 average reflects exactly who he is, and respect from the opposition as Gonzalez joins Matt Kemp, Hanley Ramirez and Andre Ethier in the lineup (Ethier, who feared he may have a long-term problem with a blistered right palm, went 4-for-4 with a homer against Miami on both Friday and Saturday).

Crawford is little more than a myth. He was an outright bust in Boston, after signing a seven-year, $142 deal before the 2011 season. He never took to the quirky nature of Fenway Park, he couldn't stay healthy, and he recently had Tommy John surgery (left elbow) that will sideline him at least until next year's spring training, if not two or three months longer.

At his best, Crawford is an energetic catalyst - with power - at the top of the order, so this acquisition could pay off handsomely next season.

Beckett's arrival seems especially timely in light of the fact that Chad Billingsley, who had gone 6-0 with a 1.80 ERA in seven starts since coming off the disabled list, sustained an apparent recurrence of the injury (tender elbow) Friday night and had to leave the game after four innings.

There's still no guarantee that the Dodgers' rotation is anywhere near the Giants' caliber. Beckett was sensational during the Red Sox' championship season in 2007 but hasn't been the same pitcher since, and, as Dan Shaughnessy wrote in the Boston Globe, "Fans came to hate him with the power of a thousand suns."

What does this mean for the Red Sox? "It's about saying goodbye to arrogance, unearned entitlement and poor performance from top-priced talent," Shaughnessy wrote. "It's about changing the rotten culture of the Sox clubhouse. Maybe we'll look back someday and say, 'What were they thinking, getting rid of all those good players for a bunch of no-names?' But right now it feels good, like throwing away everything that's cluttering up your attic."

The feeling among the Boston media is that Gonzalez, for all his sweet-swinging talent, is not a winner. That remains to be seen.

"The Dodgers are getting a class act," said Bell, who played alongside Gonzalez in San Diego, in an interview with the L.A. Times. "He doesn't have Derek Jeter's name, but he's right up there. He tries to help the Hispanic community - and every community. The fans are going to love him."

Everyone knew the Dodgers were entering a bold new era when the Guggenheim group, fronted by Magic Johnson, purchased the club for an industry-rattling $2 billion in March. Then they signed a long-term deal with Ethier, pulled off the Hanley Ramirez deal with Miami and picked up Shane Victorino (among others) from the Phillies. Those transactions, alone, gave the club some long-awaited relevance. This deal is downright shocking, making other teams in the NL West - hell, just about everyone else in the game - look like paupers.

"Are you playing within the rules? That's what I always looked at," manager Don Mattingly, an ex-Yankee, told the Times. "They used to say all that about the Yankees. If you don't like it, change the rules."

Here's the Giants' rule: survival. This is a team that has had to overcome serious injuries (Brian Wilson, Freddy Sanchez, Aubrey Huff), two drug-related suspensions (Guillermo Mota and Melky Cabrera) and sporadic stretches without their All-Star third baseman (Pablo Sandoval) in order to seize first place in the West. Now, when compared to the Dodgers' corporate opulence, they look like that guy begging for money outside AT&T Park with the sign, "Visions of a Cheeseburger."

But here's the beauty of baseball: The Giants can still win this thing. Overcoming a figurative punch to the jaw? That's how they live. However you feel about the Cabrera suspension, this stretch drive has become Ed's Electronics against U.S. Steel. Long may it rage.

L.A. completes blockbuster deal

The Dodgers stocked up for the stretch run with some new, expensive players who couldn't help the Boston Red Sox make it to the postseason this year or last.

Boston sent first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, pitcher Josh Beckett and injured outfielder Carl Crawford to Los Angeles on Saturday, shedding more than $260 million in salary obligations through 2018 to players who failed to thrive in a fractious Red Sox clubhouse.

Gonzalez, 30, is due $127 million through 2018; Crawford, 31, $102.5 million through 2017; and Beckett, 32, $31.5 million through 2014.

The Dodgers also acquired infielder Nick Punto and about $11 million in cash in exchange for first baseman James Loney, infielder Ivan DeJesus Jr., 22-year-old right-hander Allen Webster, and two players to be named. Those players are rumored to be hard-throwing 23-year-old right-hander Rubby De La Rosa and 24-year-old first baseman/outfielder Jerry Sands, a right-handed power hitter potentially tailored to Fenway Park.

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